Tech

Hands On With Vine for Android

Vine For Android

Login Screen

You can login with Twitter or create a new account.

Feed

The user feed is the first thing you see. You can scroll through Vines, like and comment on items. Unlike the iPhone version, it doesn't look like you can share Vines on Twitter or Facebook within the Vine app itself.

Activity

The activity page shows the lastest followers, comments and likes on your own Vine images.

Explore

The explore page is similar to Twitter's "Discover" tab and it shows off trending hashtags, editor's picks and popular Vines.

Profile

The profile page shows your own Vine profile, along with your Vine history.

Feed View, Extended

Mashable had fun creating a Vine with the new Android app. It was Android-themed, of course.

View User Profile

You can also view the profiles of individual users. You can toggle follow status and view past Vines.

Taking a Vine

The viewfinder takes up the center of the screen. There doesn't seem to be a way to switch from front to rear camera (something the iOS app can do).

Touching anywhere on the screen starts the video process.

Making a Vine

Pressing and holding on the image records footage for the Vine itself.

Finishing A Vine

After 6 seconds of video is captured, it's time to finish the Vine.

Sharing a Vine

One you finish with your Vine, it's time to share it with others. You can choose to share it on Twitter in addition to Vine. Unlike iOS, there is no Share to Facebook option.

Vine With a Zoom

One new feature for Android users: Zoom support.

On cameras that support the feature, pressing the volume keys on the phone will let users zoom in to an image. This is an image at maximum zoom.

Vine Zoomed Out

This is that same setup, but zoomed all the way out.

Vine is an incredibly simple application: Pick a subject, point your phone at it and hold your finger on the screen to record six seconds of video. And while there are many apps and social platforms that shoot short, shareable video (Tout, Keek), another social platform made up of itsy-bitsy videos is not all that compelling.

Yet by adding the ability to stop and start recording with a tap, Vine for the iPhone became something altogether different: a thriving platform now highlighting some fascinating creative abilities and transforming lives and careers. No wonder Android owners were so miffed that it took Twitter almost six months to release an Android App.

Now it's here, and it's about as good as you would expect, even though it does not enjoy feature-parity with the now-more-mature Vine app for iPhone.

The interfaces are, as you would expect, subtly different. Where Vine for iPhone maintains a somewhat Spartan interface, Vine for Android offers a persistent menu just below the company name/logo and the record icon. Menu choices include "Feed," Activity," "Explore" and "Profile." There is no "Home" button on the Android app, but your "Feed" pretty much serves the same purpose — and yes, it's where you start upon launching the Android app.

It's like this throughout the new app: Most of the features are there, but not always where you expect them. Both apps have a "Find people" option; the iPhone hides it under "Profile" in a little icon in the upper right-hand corner, while the Android turns it into a big button on "Profile." "Activity" looks virtually the same on both platforms. As for "Explore," they're also quite similar, but Vine for Android lacks a "Search" box.

Also, if you're hunting around for "Settings" in Vine for Android, it's hidden under your profile picture.

Shooting a Vine and Performance

Shooting a Vine on Android works almost exactly the same as it does on an iPhone. If you hit the icon to record on iOS, you'll instantly see the record screen. On the Samsung Galaxy S3, there's a momentary lag as the message "initializing" briefly appears on screen. Though noticeable, this happens quickly that it's no big deal.

The biggest difference between the two apps on the video creation side is the addition of one nifty feature on Vine for Android, and it's not at all obvious. As reported, you can zoom in on shots. When I first started shooting clips with Vine for Android, I couldn't find any reference to this new feature. That's because there isn't one.

To zoom in on an image while shooting, use your Android phone's volume up button. Volume down zooms out. I did this in between record taps and created this Vine (watch below). Note that most of the closer shots of the two characters' faces were created by using the volume buttons, not by moving the phone. It's a neat trick and could come especially in handy for the Vine animators out there.

Unlike Vine for iPhone, Vine for Android can't yet use the front-facing camera, and there is no way to tag people or add hashtags (which you can still do by hand, of course).

Processing your Vine video is also a bit slower, at least for me, than on the iPhone platform (I have, by the way, created Vine videos on both an iPhone 4 and an iPhone 5).

After recording your Vine, sharing is, again, almost identical to the experience on the iPhone, though Vine for iPhone has more options. For now, Vine for Android only lets you post to Vine and Twitter — no Facebook or location settings. Even after you share a Vine to Twitter, Vine for Android forgets that setting on the following Vine.

There's one other odd limitation in Vine for Android. I couldn't reshare Vine posts in my feed. On both platforms, there's a small ellipsis menu under every Vine post. On the iPhone, tapping the ellipsis menu pulls up share options, while on Android, it only allows you to "Report this post."

All the differences between Vine for Android and Vine for iPhone are minor, and certain to be remedied by Twitter in short order.

Overall, Vine for Android is nearly as good as Vine for iPhone, and easily just as much fun. Plus, the zoom feature is a compelling addition that should please Vine pros. In other words, I wouldn't wait to download it.

Mashable
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